Steve Staios secures a promising young playmaker solidifying, signing him to a two year deal and adding to the Senators' depth.
Instead of taking a holiday, general manager Steve Staios signed a Halliday.
The Ottawa Senators kicked off their offseason on Tuesday morning by inking Stephen Halliday to a two-year contract. According to the organization’s official press release, the 23-year-old’s contract will carry an average annual value of $1.075 million.
Halliday was one of three impending restricted free agents (RFA) on the roster, leaving Jordan Spence and Leevi Merilainen as the remaining players who will need new contracts.
Halliday’s deal brings the Senators to a projected cap hit of $87.7 million with approximately $16.3 million in projected cap space.
The contract is a tidy piece of business, as Halliday demonstrated in 30 regular season games that he can play and perform at the NHL level. His four goals and 11 points may appear as modest production on the surface, but his underlying metrics were impressive.
In the 193 minutes that Halliday was on the ice for at five-on-five, the Senators generated 56.63 of the shots (CF%), 60.82 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 60.00 percent of the total goals (GF%), and 55.39 percent of the expected goals (xGF%) per Natural Stat Trick.
A deeper dive adds context to Halliday’s production as well. Despite his limited minutes on the fourth line, Halliday was remarkably productive. Of all the NHL skaters who logged more than 190 minutes of ice time, only 23 players had a higher points per 60 rate than Halliday’s 2.49. To put it in a team-specific perspective, Halliday’s points per 60 rate was higher than Brady Tkachuk’s (2.48), and Tkachuk essentially produced at a point-per-game level last season.
Obviously, it is impressive that Tkachuk produces at his level, given the quality of the competition and talent he faces. Bringing that level of offence while competing against the opposition’s best defenders is what makes him highly paid. Halliday was productive playing in a much more sheltered role, but because of it, the hope is that he can continue to maintain his offence as he gets more ice time and opportunities to play up the lineup.
There is no question that Halliday has the size and skill to eventually get those opportunities, but at one point this season, his future in the nation’s capital seemed uncertain. Halliday was held out of the lineup in what was later described as a “coach’s decision” ahead of the NHL trade deadline, a precaution largely viewed as a precursor for a potential trade.
As a young player who has produced, Halliday can still be viewed as a desirable trade asset by other organizations, but with Tuesday's signing, it feels less likely.
That could obviously change if the organization decides to bring back impending unrestricted free agents like Nick Cousins and Lars Eller, but in the interim, Halliday projects to start on the fourth line and get second-unit power play time, a role similar to what Adam Gaudette filled during the 2024-25 season.
By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
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